As many as 89 people died of the novel coronavirus in China on Saturday, taking up the toll to 811. The number of confirmed infections rose to 37,198, PTI reported.

Among Saturday’s deaths, 81 were from Hubei province, which is the epicentre of the outbreak, two were from Henan and one death each were reported in Hebei, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Shandong, Hunan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China’s National Health Commission said. Around 600 people also recovered and left hospitals in China on Saturday.

The deaths in China have now surpassed the total Chinese toll from the 2002-’03 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. It was another coronavirus that emerged from China and killed 774 people around the world.

The novel coronavirus originated in a live seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, and the first infection was reported last month. Two people have died outside China – one each in the Philippines and Hong Kong.

Also read:

Coronavirus watch: Chinese nurse gives her sobbing daughter an ‘air hug’

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Saturday said the situation had been stabilising over the last four days, according to AFP. However, it also cautioned against making early predictions and said the figures may still shoot up.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also warned against fake news. “We’re not just battling the virus, we’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response,” he said.